Let's Talk Movies #34 - Kingsmen, Murder, Blade Runners and...IT!

[VGThuy]

She’s also amazing on stage too.

 

[topaz]

I am pre ordering my Star Wars tickets this week. I can't wait to take off that day and go to the early morning show. Last year, my mom and I saw Rogue One at 9:30am, it was so much fun

 

[PeterG]

She’s also amazing on stage too.

I'm not familiar with what stage work Michelle Williams has done. Has she done much?

 

[Buzz]

I am pre ordering my Star Wars tickets this week. I can't wait to take off that day and go to the early morning show. Last year, my mom and I saw Rogue One at 9:30am, it was so much fun

Saw your post and decided to try and get tickets for Thursday December 14th and they are sold out! Two months in advance!

 

[gk_891]

There was a cut after the Director's Cut?

Yup. The Final Cut was released in 2007.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versions_of_Blade_Runner

Judging from what's in wikipedia, some of the scenes are longer and the unicorn dream is also longer.

 

[MacMadame]

Well I feel stupid. Apparently I own the Final Cut. I think I thought it was the Director's Cut.

 

[Vash01]

I am pre ordering my Star Wars tickets this week. I can't wait to take off that day and go to the early morning show. Last year, my mom and I saw Rogue One at 9:30am, it was so much fun

Where do you order these from?

 

[gk_891]

Well I feel stupid. Apparently I own the Final Cut. I think I thought it was the Director's Cut.

I remember watching the Director's Cut (from 1992) back when I was in high school and it completely changed my opinion on the movie as I had hated the theatrical version. But the elimination of the voice over narration, and open-ended and potentially bleaker ending, and the question of whether Deckhard was a replicant or not made it so much more compelling to watch.

 

[MacMadame]

Usually when I watch, I still hear the narration in my head. I guess enough time has passed because I didn't hear it tonight. I prefer the Director's Cut to the Final Cut though. The Final Cut has too much gratuitous violence.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

Not new but I'm going to see Princess Bride re-release in the theater tomorrow. It's one of my favorites so I'm looking forward to seeing it on the big screen.

 

[smurfy]

BTW some of the comments in the IMDB reviews were reprehensible and clearly racist. I can understand someone not liking a certain type of movie, but to say stuff like black man-white woman is wrong, and give it a 1/10 is just hateful.

That is so sad. But we should not be suprised.
To me Idris Elba just screams Leading Man for the movies.

 

[gk_891]

That is so sad. But we should not be suprised.
To me Idris Elba just screams Leading Man for the movies.

Indeed, not surprising at all unfortunately. What's interesting though for some people, only certain types of interracial relationships are 'ok' depending on what the pairing is.

 

[VGThuy]

Indeed, not surprising at all unfortunately. What's interesting though for some people, only certain types of interracial relationships are 'ok' depending on what the pairing is.

Probably one with white man with whomever where it's ok for him but for the woman there's more judgment. White women among all women are treated as if we're only reserved for certain races of men.

Kumail Nanjiani, who just did The Big Sick, hosted SNL last week and in his monologue he spoke about some people's reaction to the movie showcasing an interracial coupling between a Pakistani-American and a white woman. He said people used the term "race mixing" already gives red flags, even if one is trying to use it positively. The term "race mixing" really is a strange turn of phrase.

 

[gk_891]

Probably one with white man with whomever where it's ok for him but for the woman there's more judgment. White women among all women are treated as if we're only reserved for certain races of men.

Kumail Nanjiani, who just did The Big Sick, hosted SNL last week and in his monologue he spoke about some people's reaction to the movie showcasing an interracial coupling between a Pakistani-American and a white woman. He said people used the term "race mixing" already gives red flags, even if one is trying to use it positively. The term "race mixing" really is a strange turn of phrase.

Yup, you hit the nail right one the head. 'Race mixing' or whatever term one wants to use is only ok for white men it seems, at least in Anglo White North America. I'm not sure about Europe and Australia/New Zealand though.

What's interesting is that attitudes towards race mixing in other parts of the worlds are often very different. In parts of Latin America and the Caribbean (e.g. Cuba, Trinidad, Jamaica, Peru, Panama, Brazil, etc.) men from many different backgrounds whether they were Black, East Asian, South Asian, Middle Eastern, Amerindian, etc., intermixed and intermarried with whomever and there was no stigma surrounding that. And while tensions between groups definitely exist due to political and/or economic reasons, when it came to basic stuff like respectability, love, and sex, no one really cared about race like many do here in Anglo/White North America.

 

[PeterG]

On the radio this morning they said that Cher has signed on to be in the Mamma Mia sequel. Can you tell I'm a Cher uber-fan?

They also mentioned that Beyoncé was supposed to be in the Beauty and The Beast movie, playing the character who was a French maid before being turned into...can't remember who exactly, haven't seen the movie yet and I'm not sure I even saw the animated version. Anyway, seemed strange that Beyoncé would be doing a smaller role such as this. She seems too larger than life to take such a supporting role. They didn't say why she withdrew from being a part of the movie.

 

[MacMadame]

They also mentioned that Beyoncé was supposed to be in the Beauty and The Beast movie, playing the character who was a French maid before being turned into...can't remember who exactly, haven't seen the movie yet and I'm not sure I even saw the animated version. Anyway, seemed strange that Beyoncé would be doing a smaller role such as this. She seems too larger than life to take such a supporting role. They didn't say why she withdrew from being a part of the movie.

My daughter played that part in Children's Theater production. Babette turns into a feather duster. She has a thing with Lumiere and it's a fun part if you like to vamp.

 

[PeterG]

Tonight I saw Victoria & Abdul and I hope that Judi Dench will get her eighth Oscar nomination for her second time playing Queen Victoria (for which she got her first Oscar nomination in 1998 for Mrs. Brown). It would be nice to see Ali Fazal get some award attention as well. And maybe Stephen Frears for his direction. He's been nominated twice before, for The Queen in 2007 and The Grifters in 1990. Some of the other movies Frears has directed:

Florence Foster Jenkins
Philomena
Mrs Henderson Presents
High Fidelity
Dangerous Liaisons
My Beautiful Laundrette

Some decent stuff there.

Back to Victoria & Abdul: as mentioned, the two leads make this movie work, but in less talented hands of the director, the movie as a whole wouldn't have been as strong as it is. Not sure if the screenplay deserves an Oscar nod, but I won't be disappointed if it get one for adapted screenplay. The rest of the cast is strong, but none have a role big enough to warrant a nomination in my opinion. But Eddie Izzard, Tim Pigott-Smith, Michael Gambon and Olivia Williams are all strong in their (limited) roles. If you like historical dramas, I'm pretty sure you'll love this one.

 

[VGThuy]

Stephen Frears really has a solid filmography. Some of those films you listed are pretty excellent, IMO. For me Florence Foster Jenkins was hit by people who had Meryl fatigue that led to a real backlash especially against her Oscar nomination for that film and Meryl’s performance became severely underrated and Hugh Grant was snubbed. Some times I think people who get that way need to stop caring so much or stop obsessing about awards because it gets in the way of appreciating a film and a performance outside the context of award season.

 

[Japanfan]

Stephen Frears really has a solid filmography. Some of those films you listed are pretty excellent, IMO. For me Florence Foster Jenkins was hit by people who had Meryl fatigue that led to a real backlash especially against her Oscar nomination that the film and Meryl’s performance became severely underrated and Hugh Grant was snubbed.

I didn't care much for the film and felt that both Streep's and Grant's talents were largely wasted. Good comedy is really hard to do, and I don't know that any actors could have made this film a success.

Mind you, part of the reason I disliked it so much was having to list to Streep's horrible singing.

 

[skatesindreams]

Note: Streep was not singing as herself; but as Florence Foster Jenkins, who was that bad.
Recordings exist, if you really want to know.

 

[moojja]

I didn't care much for the film and felt that both Streep's and Grant's talents were largely wasted. Good comedy is really hard to do, and I don't know that any actors could have made this film a success.

Mind you, part of the reason I disliked it so much was having to list to Streep's horrible singing.

I really liked the film. And the whole point of the film is the horrible singing.

 

[skatesindreams]

I've always wondered if Florence realized that she was "lionized" by the cultural community because they regarded her as a "laughingstock"?
My parents shared her story with me long before the movie.

 

[VGThuy]

I've always wondered if Florence realized that she was "lionized" by the cultural community because they regarded her as a "laughingstock"?
My parents shared her story with me long before the movie.

Apparently she realized it shortly after her Carnegie Hall concert and it broke her heart. She died not too long after.

 

[4rkidz]

I saw Kingsmen on the weekend, yes it was long but I loved it! I literally laughed out loud a few times, but also looked away in the gross parts. Not going to win any awards, but was a great escape on a rainy night.

 

[Seerek]

I've always wondered if Florence realized that she was "lionized" by the cultural community because they regarded her as a "laughingstock"?
My parents shared her story with me long before the movie.

The 2007 Documentary A World Of Her Own is an excellent companion piece to the movie. I mentioned this last year, but I still don't think we should regard Frears' Florence Foster Jenkins as a full-on comedy per se, as there is an underbelly of sadness in many of the scenes.

 

[skatesindreams]

She died not too long after.

Some of the medical treatment that she had earlier in life, may have been responsible for her inability to sing well; or hear that she could not do so.

 

[watchthis!!]

I found State of Play to be quite a good drama/mystery/thriller (as imdb categorizes it). It's the 2009 movie starring Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams, Ben Affleck and Helen Mirren. Crowe is definitely the lead and he's quite good. McAdams has a small role and doesn't seem to bring much to it. I don't think she's that charismatic, especially when the has to share the screen with actors like Crowe and (especially) Helen Mirren. Mirren's role is WAY too small and the time she has on the screen isn't written that interestingly, but of course she brings a lot to what she has to work with. In even smaller roles, we see Robin Wright, Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels and Viola Davis. Imagine if somebody made a movie where all of these people had equal screen time. Fireworks!! I thought the script was quite strong and the direction was good. The movie has a 7.1 rating at imdb.com, which is quite high.

Trailer for State of Play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1Sp1QvyQQI

I saw Kingsmen on the weekend, yes it was long but I loved it! I literally laughed out loud a few times, but also looked away in the gross parts. Not going to win any awards, but was a great escape on a rainy night.

I wonder if the Oscars should make a category that somehow combines action and movement. I don't know what the terminology could be, but it could include fights scenes, choreographed dances, car chases, etc. All of these things take as much talent and work as make-up, lighting and/or costumes.

Apparently she realized it shortly after her Carnegie Hall concert and it broke her heart. She died not too long after.

 

[topaz]

Saw your post and decided to try and get tickets for Thursday December 14th and they are sold out! Two months in advance!

I buy my tickets from fandango.com.

 

[Buzz]

I got tickets!!! They were not the best seats and it was in a Cineplex far away but at least I finally got tickets! I am afraid Fandango don't apparently do business with the cinema chains near me. I usually get my tickets straight from Cineplex. They are the only ones who take my points card.

 

[Japanfan]

Note: Streep was not singing as herself; but as Florence Foster Jenkins, who was that bad.

I'm aware of that. In saying 'Streep's singing' I'm referring to her sing as Jenkins in the film. I don't know whether or not Streep can sing well, but even an actress who is a poor stinger would find it challenging to sing as Jenkins.